Brett Wilkinson, an assistant director at the HMRC, said: “This man thought he was above the law by attempting to flood the market with his illicit, smuggled tobacco, denying a living for decent, hard-working retailers.”

Man pleaded guilty to evading excise duty on the first day of his trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court in April.

He was sentenced on May 31 to a 15-month jail sentence, suspended for two years. The court also imposed a nine-month curfew, between 7pm and 7am.